Squatch’s Open Thread 16/01/2016

Today has been a very quiet day fortunately because it has rained all day and I really didn't want to get wet.  The furbabes are snuggled together on my bed, Annie with her arms around Winnie.  I relaxed today, all day, and took time to watch part of the movie AVATAR so I could keep my knee elevated for a while.  I'll watch the rest when I retire for the night, that is I stay awake long enough.

Short Takes

Take Part — Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying announced Wednesday [13/01/2016] that his government will end its legal ivory trade.

That market is considered a facilitator of illegal ivory transport into mainland China, the world’s largest consumer of smuggled ivory.  …

Hong Kong’s move comes as the price of elephant ivory plummets. In a report by conservation group Save the Elephants, the cost of raw ivory on the black market has fallen by almost half over the past 18 months. …

“If the trade closes, the value of ivory as an investment depreciates,” Knights said. “We see Hong Kong prices going down because of the public backlash against ivory, and that should have an impact on poaching. Couple that with stepped-up efforts in Africa to deter poachers, and the ivory trade ends up getting squeezed at both ends.”

In a BBC article almost a year ago, word came that China instituted a one year ban on the importation of ivory.  Now China is taking the next step.  This is an issue that Obama and the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, spoke about during a visit in 2015.

Upworthy — What are the chances a 6th-grader from the biggest slum in Kenya ends up on stage in New York City, speaking to thousands of people?

Not very great, but Eunice Akoth did it. She's living her dream.

Eunice's dreams aren't exactly uncommon for a girl her age: to travel the world and to become a doctor. But the possibility of seeing them through is extra difficult simply because of where she was born.

Between unemployment rates, gender discrimination, and violence in her slum of Kibera — it's a long road out for girls like her.

My student faced the same type of childhood as many of the girls in Kibera . . . no education, beaten, married very young, raising babies when she was still a child herself.  Her dream is to see her children, all of them, get an education, the education she never had.  And to remind her of this, she has a painted rock in the garden that says "Dream".

Mother Jones — During his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama reiterated his call to eliminate federal subsidies for fossil fuels in an effort to speed up the transition to cleaner energy sources. It's something he's asked for nearly every year of his presidency, and it hasn't happened yet. But this year, he added something new: a plan to charge oil and coal companies more for leases on federal land, to offset the damage their products do to the climate.  …

The onslaught started at the end of December, when China announced plans to close 1,000 coal mines as part of its campaign to reduce crippling air pollution and the world's highest greenhouse gas emissions.  …

Coal's future doesn't seem much brighter. More than two dozen coal-reliant states are suing the Obama administration over its climate plan.

As reported in another article by the same author in Mother Jones on 15 January 2016,

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced on Friday that she was placing a moratorium on new coal-mining leases on public land and that her department would begin a multiyear review of how those lease contracts are awarded. The policy change is likely to make the leases more expensive for mining companies, to generate increased royalties for the government, and to offset the damage coal production and consumption do to the environment.

"We haven't done a top-to-bottom review of the coal program in 30 years," Jewell told reporters. She added that her department will search for ways "to manage [coal] in a way that is consistent with the climate change agenda."

Coal has had its day and no amount of interference from the Republicans should change that course, but if they win the White House in November, look out!  There is no reason why a small percentage of Americans, relatively speaking, should override the concerns of all Americans.  Although Republicans will appear to agitate for coal workers, really they are in bed with the coal companies.  With coal producing high green house gas levels, the planet can't afford to keep burning dirty coal.  I had to chuckle at the author's comment,

But he [Lee-Ashley] said the financial overhaul should enjoy bipartisan support, since it boils down to giving the American people a fair price for their natural resources.

"When you look at the money being lost to taxpayers through these loopholes, anybody who believes in good business should be able to carry it forward," he said.

"Fair price" to a Republican does not meet our standards.  Republicans are in the coal bin with the coal companies.  Have a look at the article I presented back in October 2015, The Fall of King Coal.

My Universe — The third kitten, a liitle grey and white furball, has the longest meow I have ever heard . . . and all in one tiny body!